


The Firebending Idiots

by SteveTrevorsStarship



Series: Path of Least Resistance [2]
Category: Fullmetal Alchemist - All Media Types, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood & Manga
Genre: :), Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Avatar & Benders Setting, M/M, Pre-Slash, RoyEd is heavy hinted at tho, Slow Burn, So I guess this counts as Slow Burn?, once I get my shit together, this will be a series
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-16
Updated: 2020-06-16
Packaged: 2021-03-04 03:48:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,239
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24747103
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SteveTrevorsStarship/pseuds/SteveTrevorsStarship
Summary: That one fic where Ed is the Avatar, Roy is the firebender who found him in the ice, and neither of them have their shit together.
Relationships: Edward Elric/Roy Mustang
Series: Path of Least Resistance [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1789513
Comments: 15
Kudos: 66





	The Firebending Idiots

**Author's Note:**

> The Avatar: The Last Airbender AU where Ed is 20, has been trapped in ice for 10 years with Al and Winry, and Roy found them. This first fic is based on the episode "The Firebending Masters." Ed and Al are earthbenders, Riza is a nonbender, and Havoc is an airbender because I said so. And Rebecca Catalina is a flying Bison, also because I said so. Check the bottom note for more so I don't spoil.

Ed looks at Roy like he’s insane. Like he’s only 30 but he’s finally gone and done it, finally fell off the wagon like Riza’s been swearing he will all these years. 

Roy is not insane. He is  _ practical.  _

“I can’t teach you firebending.” 

“What the fuck do you mean you can’t teach me firebending? That’s the entire reason you came on this trip, bastard!” 

Well, technically speaking, it really isn’t. That had been a happy accident– they’d both needed each other. Roy had been the unlucky idiot to find Ed and Al’s bodies in the South Pole and melt the ice. Fire Lord Bradley would have wanted to kill the Avatar, so Roy did what Roy did best. 

He lied. A lot. 

He had kept Ed and Al alive, for the time being. He kept them out of sight long enough to escape the Fire Nation’s sights and if he ended up being banished himself– well. All part of the plan to become Fire Lord, wasn’t it? 

He had always believed in the Avatar. Even when he was choking on the ash, even when everybody said the Avatar had been missing for more than 5 years, even when he helped wipe out most of the Earthbenders. It’s the reason he’d tried to help Ed in the first place. 

He’d just never expected the man to be so infuriating. Adorable, but infuriating.

“I came on this trip to help you kill Fire Lord Bradley. I will help you find a firebending teacher, but I can’t teach you firebending. At least not some of it.” 

“Why the hell not?” Ed asks. Roy can’t help but compare him to a petulant child, even when the man is a fully grown adult.

Roy sighs and puts down his broth, realizing Ed wouldn’t let him eat in peace. He leans back on the ground and gestures to Ed. “Your Earthbending– where do you draw it from?” 

Ed blinks, seemingly startled by the question as he puts his own broth down. “Everywhere. Everything’s connected. You just have to learn how to become the element and– yeah. Everywhere, in simple terms.” 

“And the rest of the elements, they’re more or less the same?” 

“Well, yeah, I guess. Every element has its own set of rules and philosophies, but in the end, it’s all connected. Sky meets the ground, water meets the sky, all that jazz.” 

Roy closes his eyes for a moment. He thinks of how blissful that sort of ignorant view on the world must be. He might be wrong but to him– 

Fire kills everything it touches. There’s no more to it. Earth creates, water nurtures, air carries, and fire kills. The only reason his burns so bright is because he’s not afraid of it. He accepts the pain fire brings and uses his grief to fuel it, where others would use their anger and hatred.

“If that’s the energy you draw your other bending from, that’s where you will draw your Firebending from.”

“So?” Ed asks, his eyebrow furrowed and his nose upturned. Roy almost lets out a delighted laugh at the sight. To avoid being viciously slaughtered at the hands of the Avatar, he holds it back.

“So, I draw mine from a completely different place. They’re two different things. I can’t teach you over what you already know and I can’t even imagine drawing my power from a different place.” 

“Where do you draw your energy from, then?” 

Roy’s smile dims. “Most firebenders use their anger and hatred of their enemies. I use something different, but it’s the same concept.” 

“Why can’t you just teach me that, then? I’m pretty sure you don’t hate all your enemies.” Ed asks, oblivious. Al shoots him a look that says  _ shut up now _ but Roy only shakes his head and smiles slightly. He can forgive Ed for his obliviousness on this matter; he hadn’t been there to see nearly all the Earthbenders slaughtered, after all. Not only that, but Roy is also  _ relieved _ . This power comes from the blood he has on his hands– he never wants to share that burden with Ed. 

“It’s not something that can be taught, Ed, and it’s not particularly healthy.” 

“Oh.”

“Sums it up well.” 

“Then do you know someone that can teach me?” 

“As a matter of fact, I do. We leave in the morning.” 

. . .

Al, Riza, and Havoc end up staying behind. 

“You know Becky pretty well, I’m sure she wouldn’t mind you two flying without me,” Havoc says, patting his flying bison on the head. “And it’ll be good airbending training for the boss anyway.” 

Ed snorts in acknowledgment as he packs up Becky. “Yeah yeah, I’ll do the gliding exercises and all that fun stuff. How far is this place, Bastard?” 

Roy looks at the map in front of him and traces the route. “Half a day’s journey, at most.” 

“Well, that’s good. How long will we need to stay?”

“Less than a day, hopefully.” 

“Less than a day to learn firebending?”

“All we’re going to be looking at is some ancient ruins to see if they can help.” Ed nods in response and hops onto Becky. Roy follows suit, waving goodbye to the rest of their group. 

“Don’t do anything too rash, brother!” Al calls after them, a fond but exasperated smile on his face. 

“No promises!” Ed picks up the reigns. “Come on then, Becky!” 

. . .

Not too long later, when Roy is stretched out on the back of Becky and napping in the warmth of the sun, he feels Ed scoot next to him and poke his leg. 

Roy opens only one eye to see blonde hair that’s nearly blinding in the sunlight. “Shouldn’t you be flying the Bison?”

“The Bison can already fly, I’m just there for moral support.” 

Roy closes his eyes again. “And Navigation?”

“It’s a straight line. If Rebecca can’t figure it out, then she really must be Havoc’s spirit animal.” Under them, the flying bison snorts in protest. “See? She’s smart, unlike Havoc.” 

Roy would laugh, but he’s thinking a nap sounds nice. He only hums in response and a long silence follows. 

“Where are we going, anyway?” Ed’s voice interrupts the final stages of him dozing off and Roy sighs, giving up on trying to have a nap. 

He pulls himself up into a sitting position and looks at Ed. “To learn from the original firebending masters.” 

“The original firebending masters?”

“The sun warriors.”

“Aren’t they dead?”

“Yes, though I’m sure they left some texts behind for you to learn from.” 

A moment passes before Ed speaks again.

“Can I ask where you get your Firebending from?” 

“No.”

Ed groans. “C’mon, I know like, next to nothing about you!”

“You know more than most do,” Roy points out. 

“I know that you’re a Firebender, your two best friends are non-benders, and that you hate Fire Lord Bradley as much as I do.” 

Roy smirks. “See? More than most.” 

Ed scoffs. “Come on, bastard, you have to give me  _ something  _ to work with.” 

“Well,” Roy says, pretending to consider, “I’m lactose intolerant.” He leans back and looks up at the sky.

A long moment passes before Ed speaks again. He leans into Roy’s line of vision and asks, “You’re lying, aren’t you?” 

“Damn, you caught me.”

“And here I thought I found someone who appreciated my hatred for milk and all of its relatives.”

“I thought you liked stew?”

“Stew isn’t milk’s relative, it’s more like the only normal stepchild. Like, milk does crack or something and the rest of them are just fucked up– yeah.” 

“I suppose that would be an awkward family reunion.”

“I like to think stew isn’t going to family reunions ‘cuz it doesn’t like milk. By the way, you still haven’t answered my question.” 

Roy throws Ed a smirk and says, “As I recall, it wasn’t framed as a question.”

“Just shut up and tell me something about you, and if you say that’s a contradictory statement or any other kind of snarky retort, I  _ will  _ hang you up by your entrails.”

Ed’s smile speaks to the fact that his threat is less than a threat and pulls at the strings of constant wanting in Roy’s chest, which he unsuccessfully ignores.

“I have a sister,” he finally says, closing his eyes and tilting his chin up towards the sun. 

A moment of silence from Ed. 

“Well actually, multiple sisters. One biological sister, though, and did I tell you I grew up in a brothel?”

Another pause before Ed says, “That explains a lot about you.” 

Roy only hums in response. Naptime is upon him– 

Except it’s not because he hears Becky give her telltale grunt and Ed says, “Oh, I think we’re here.” Roy opens his eyes (slowly, reluctantly) to find Ed staring at him with a soft smile on his face. 

(If Roy thinks about it, it’s the same smile the young man gives Alphonse. But he tries not to think about it because he’s responsible for the mass genocide of Ed’s people and he doesn’t think Ed is fully aware of that yet.)

“Is there something on my face, Edward?” Roy sits up and stretches as Becky lands in a clearing. 

“Did your sisters try to put makeup on you? Are there pictures?” 

“Yes and no.” 

“Liar. I’ll ask your sister when I meet her.” 

Roy rolls his eyes. “Stepping into the fire nation is suicide for you.” 

“Aren’t we in the fire nation right now?” 

“Not many know this island exists.” 

“Then why do you?” 

“I’m well educated.”

“Bullshit.”

“On the contrary, I’ll have you know I was educated under my master for 6 years before joining the military.”

“Shut up and get off the Bison.”

. . .

So there they are. But then there are actual Sun Warriors, which Roy hadn’t expected, who tell Ed he must “face his judgment” which Roy isn’t worried about until they look at him and tell him the Dancing Dragon needs a partner, and he must go, too. 

He’s not entirely sure what’s going on here, he’s pretty sure he’s about to be eaten for his sins against humanity (he had heard the scrawny man that really shouldn’t be wearing a skirt say it earlier, and to be frank, he has committed a lot of sins against humanity).

So Ed, who is mostly confused with everything that’s happening, just shrugs at Roy and continues up the steps with the first fire in his hands. Roy opens his mouth to say something along the lines of  _ we probably shouldn’t go up there, I’ll die  _ but then squashes the thought. He physically can’t teach Ed firebending (he never knew anything other than the pain and grief he took his own from) and this is their only chance for him to learn more. 

Who knows. Maybe the mysterious original firebenders will let him live. 

“Do we have any idea who these people are? They said the original firebenders but the original firebenders other than the Sun Warriors are the Dragons and, well- aren’t they dead?”

“Yes.” 

“So then who the hell are we about to learn from? Who are Ran and Shaw?” Ed scowls as he looks down at his flame.

Roy sighs. “I have no idea.” 

“Weren’t you the one whose idea it was to come here?”

“Yes, but I figured we would be learning from ancient transcripts, not a warrior tribe.” 

“Useless,” Ed mutters.

“Thank you,” Roy responds. 

They reach the top of the steps and stand there, looking around. Ed starts to say, “Um, so do we–” 

“Present your fire to the damn cave, Ed.” 

“Okay, okay, geez,” he says, turning to one cave while Roy turns to the other. 

A moment passes before Ed says, “Are they hard of hearing or something–?” and he’s interrupted by a violent  _ woosh  _ of air and two dragons–  _ two, holy shit, Roy had thought all of them were dead–  _ emerged from the caves and flew around the platform. Roy openly gapes. Ed seems to be cussing worse than he usually does. Both of their fires are out. 

Roy clears his throat and regains his composure. “Ed,” he says, “I think we have to do the Dancing Dragon.”

“The thing those statues in the temple taught us earlier?”

“Yes.” 

“Oh. Um, right.”

So they start back to back, arms raised and backs straight. The dragons follow the form, red and blue swirling above their heads as Ed and Roy finish up the final paces– 

They land on the platform facing each other and blow fire. Roy thinks  _ this is it, this is the end, sorry, Ed  _ but then it’s  _ beautiful,  _ all rainbow-colored and swirling. 

(Is this what fire is supposed to be? Roy had always thought the drive and the anger was all the other firebenders had. He had grief to power his fire, but could Ed have been right?

Could creation be the root of fire’s power after all?)

Then it’s gone, and the dragons retreat back to their caves. Roy makes a startled noise in the back of his throat. Ed, still at his back, is completely silent. 

Roy closes his eyes another moment before asking, “Do you get it now?” 

Ed’s voice is low and scratchy. “Yeah,” he croaks. “Holy shit, yeah.” 

“Okay.” 

“Do you?” Ed coughs to clear his throat. “Get it, I mean.” 

Roy thinks before saying, “More than I did before.” 

**Author's Note:**

> This will be a series. Why does Roy have a sister? Because I'm me and all my characters need loving little sisters that call their older brothers on their shit (in other news, perhaps this is a complex that I should speak to my brothers about.) 
> 
> So in terms of fic ideas, here's what I got so far:
> 
> The prequel- in which we see Ed and Al in their natural habitat with their mother before the war breaks out and they have to flee with Winry right before all of their parents die tragically. Yes, there will be an actual story. I'm just giving yall the gist, cuz I'm a lazy shit. 
> 
> The beginning- In which Roy finds the three of them in the ice and frees them, helps them escape, and then defects the military like a suave sonofabitch. Also, this is the Avatar world based in the early 1900's, so we have guns and fuck democracy. 
> 
> This fic technically is the middle, idk if there will be any embellishment of Ed learning any of the other elements. 
> 
> The end- in which Ed kicks Fire Lord Bradley's ass, Roy becomes Fire Lord, and they fuck (except no smut, because I don't do smut.) the point is, ladies, that they do the shebang and live happily ever after
> 
> The sequel- may or may not happen. Maybe I'll show them getting married or some bullshit, idek


End file.
